


The Jaded and the Romantic

by HeithChief



Series: Bokuroo Week 2018 [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Background Relationships, Clubbing, Drinking, Hints of Daisuga, Late Night Conversations, M/M, bartender kuroo, hints of iwaoi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 12:05:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14284560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeithChief/pseuds/HeithChief
Summary: Suga takes Bokuto, Terushima and Iwaizumi to a new night club where his boyfriend, Daichi works. There they meet Daichi's coworkers Oikawa and Kuroo. Bokuto immediately makes a connection with Kuroo and goes over to talk to him. He quickly finds out there's more to Kuroo than meets the eye. He's got a bit of a past that he'd rather not talk about and almost writes Bokuto off completely when Bokuto accidentally brings it up. Bokuto has to try to figure out what he said wrong and why Kuroo hates talking about his high school years.





	The Jaded and the Romantic

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm still working on these. This is for Bokuroo week day 5: College

Bokuto walked through the quad, meeting up with the rest of his friends. They were going to a new bar that had just opened up just a half-mile away from campus that was advertising half priced drinks. That was enough to get him in, being like every other broke college student, half priced anything meant: ‘hell yeah, I’m there’. Terushima was the first to tell him about it and they got group together to go check it out. Also, Sugawara’s boyfriend, Daichi had gotten a job there, so they were going to be able to skip the line. That was another major plus.

“What kind of bar is this?” Bokuto asked, watching for Sugawara’s reaction, he seemed to be the only one with inside information.

“Oh, you don’t know?” Sugawara pressed his lips together to stifle his laughter. “It’s more of a club, I would say…a gay club.”

“Wait! So, there will be no girls there?” Terushima asked, his eyes growing wide with shock.

“I’m guessing you all agreed to come because of the promise of cheap alcohol.” Iwaizumi smirked a little, exchanging a look with Sugawara. He knew as well, but mostly because there a guy on his floor that worked there as well.

“Well there will be no girls interested in _you_ there.” Sugawara raised an eyebrow at Terushima, “problem?”

“Not really, I was just surprised. I like both.” Terushima looked at Bokuto and elbowed him, grinning mischievously. “Won’t be a problem for you, huh, Bo?” They all knew Bokuto was gay and very proud of it.

Bokuto grinned back at him, “Well this night just got ten times better.” They all laughed at Bokuto’s new found eagerness for what was to come. Most of their friend group, especially the ones going to the bar tonight, were in the lgbt community in some way. It was part of what brought them all together even though they were all from different parts of the country.

Big rainbow neon letters that read “Members Only” greeted them as they approached the club. Terushima’s eyes grew wide and he broke out in a fit of giggles. “Now that I know it’s a gay bar, that name makes so much sense.”

“Ohhhhh! Amazing!” Bokuto joined in, having to rest his arm on Terushima’s shoulder for support as both of them laughed at the name. There was nothing like a good dick joke to get them going.

“I should have known.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at their childish laughter, but he was also fighting a smile. Their laughter was contagious, and it was very hard not to join in.

“Come on losers, let’s go inside.” Sugawara directed them to the front of the line and they were glad they had connections tonight. The discounted drinks had really drawn a crowd and the line was already wrapped around the building. Sugawara smiled at the bouncer and handed him the VIP invitation. He looked it for a moment and then opened the velvet rope, letting the five of them in. Bokuto and Terushima exchanged excited looks, feeling fancy as VIP guests, strode in like the owned the place.

 

It was barely an hour passed the official opening time and the club was filling up fast. Daichi, Kuroo, and Oikawa were already swamped making drinks for their many customers. Kuroo threw his shaker into the air, letting it flip, before catching it behind his back. The fun presentation always got him better tips and the three of them were competition to see who could get the most tips tonight. They all heard the announcement over their ear pieces from the bouncer that Daichi’s boyfriend had arrived.

“Ooo Dai! Your man candy is here. So, we finally get to meet the infamous boyfriend of yours?” Kuroo shouted over the music winking at Daichi.

“Yeah, I was starting to think you made him up.” Oikawa yelled, giving Kuroo a high five for the jest.

“I heard he brought friends, so maybe we can finally get you two some.” Daichi shot back, he could dish it out as easily as he could take it. His eyes drifted to the door and he blew a kiss at Sugawara as he walked inside.

“Oh, he is cute.” Kuroo said acting way more surprised than he actually felt just to get under his friend’s skin. Daichi was good looking in the very traditional sense, so it wouldn’t be that much a stretch for him to have an equally attractive boyfriend. His eyes lit up when he saw a very muscular guy walk in with the group. He was just Kuroo’s type. “Dibs on the guy with the two-toned hair.” Kuroo elbowed Oikawa as he served the drink to his waiting customer.

“Damn. You always call dibs on the…never mind. I’m good with brunette. He’s hot too. He could crush me with those arms and I’d die happy.” Oikawa winked at Kuroo who nodded in agreement.

“And I’d be happy being suffocated by the pecs on my guy.”

“Good choices.” Daichi chuckled, “The brunette is Iwaizumi Hajime and the guy with the crazy hair is Bokuto Koutarou. Good luck with Iwaizumi, though, he doesn’t go for just anyone.”

Oikawa smirked and cracked his knuckles, “Good. I love a challenge.”

“Yeah, no one cares.” Kuroo stuck his tongue out at Oikawa and playfully pushed past him to talk to Daichi. “Daichi, what about Bokuto? What’s he like?”

“Well I don’t know them all that well, these are Suga’s friends, but huh…”

“What?” Kuroo eagerly watched Daichi’s reaction, trying to read him before he even said anything. From what he was getting it was positive, but he also looked confused? Bewildered, maybe?

“You two might actually get along well. I don’t know why we’ve never thought of setting you two up before. But then again, you might be too similar and hate each other.”

“Never.” Kuroo adjusted his bow tie and unbuttoned his vest so it showed off all of his bare torso, instead of just chest. “Just wait until midnight, we’ll finally be able to do the show in front of an audience. I bet he won’t be able to resist, Right, Tooru?”

“Hmm, yes, there’s always that. Iwaizumi is here, which hopefully means there’s a little part of him that likes guys.”

 

“Suga! Please tell me know the dark-haired bar tender with the red bow tie.” Terushima tugged on Sugawara’s arm eyeing him from across the room.

Bokuto looked over, trying to find the guy Terushima was asking about and they locked eyes from across the room. The guy smiled and Bokuto felt his heart melt. He swallowed the lump that had just formed in his throat, “Dibs.”

“No fair!” Terushima shoved Bokuto, glaring at him. “I totally saw him first.”

“Dibs? Seriously, are two in grade school?” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and walked past them to order a drink from the bar.

“I’ll buy your drink for at least the first three rounds.” Bokuto said quickly, he felt something there just by their eye contact. It was lighting striking just once but shaking him to his core. There was no way he was letting this slip by. Usually, he and Terushima never fought over guys because Terushima was pretty easy going when he it came to these things. Bokuto was the same, and they both played by the ‘whoever saw him first rule’, but not now. This one was different.

Terushima raised an eyebrow catching the look shared between the bartender and Bokuto. There was a strange intensity that Terushima felt like he could nearly see it like it was a thick fog. Bokuto had never been like this over a guy before. “Wow. So serious, all right. I’ll back off. Go get us some drinks.”

“Gladly. I think I’ll be making a lot trips to the bar tonight.” Bokuto walked toward the over, feeling himself and the beat of music as he worked his strut. He turned a couple of heads, but he didn’t notice. In Bokuto’s field of vision, it was only him and the very beautiful man in a red. He didn’t even register the blush on Iwaizumi’s face as the brunette bar tender leaned over the bar to flirt with him. Normally he would tease him, but now wasn’t the time.

The tallest of the three bartenders leaned over, smiling at Bokuto when he reached the bar. “What can I get you.”

It took every bit of restraint inside of Bokuto to not blurt out ‘you’. “Two beers, whatever you have on draft that you recommend.”

He heard the order of two and his eyes flicked back to the blond with the undercut who was talking with Sugawara. That he didn’t see coming. This gorgeous man, Bokuto, had a boyfriend. Of course, how could he not be taken? His face fell a little bit, but he tried his best to keep his charming smile an ever-present permanent fixture. “One for you and one for your boyfriend, huh? He’s cute.”

“B-boyfriend?” Bokuto stuttered out and followed Kuroo’s line of sight over to Terushima. He scrambled to correct him, “Teru? No. No way, I’m not into him that way. I…” Bokuto couldn’t even think of a lie or an excuse of why he was buying their drinks. He wasn’t really good a lying on the spot and it was usually obviously super unconvincing. “Well, to be honest, I told him I’d buy him a few drinks if he backed off and let me talk to you instead.”

“Really?” The bartender blushed and was obviously still trying to keep his cool, but he was surprised by Bokuto’s honestly. That and so flattered that he was bit flustered. He was a college student himself, he knew importance of free alcohol between bros. “I, I like that honesty. It’s um, attractive. I’m Tetsurou.” He walked over and picked his favorite draft. Quickly, he busied himself filling the glasses to hide the embarrassment over how uncool he felt right now. He purposefully didn’t give his full name. He never introduced himself like that anymore. He didn’t care if people called him by his given name, as long as they didn’t recognize his last name.

Kuroo walked back over and set the glasses down between them, recovered from that bit of awkwardness. “So, maybe you’ll help me a little with something? I’m in a bet with the other bartenders, Daichi and Tooru to see who can get the most tips tonight. Losers have to give half their tips to the winner.” Kuroo pointed to a glass jar that had his name scrawled across it red glitter.

Bokuto looked into his wallet and bit his lip. If he also had to fish out a hefty tip, which he definitely wanted to, and buy drinks for himself _and_ Terushima, his wallet would be crying. He looked back up at Kuroo and smirked. “Oh yeah? What will you do for me?”

Kuroo placed his hands on the bar to support himself as he leaned backwards so Bokuto could get a full view of his body. “We have a little surprise for every at the stroke of midnight to promote tonight’s opening. Depending on the response, we might make it a nightly thing.”

That pose all of a sudden rang so many bells in Bokuto’s head. He’d seen it somewhere before with the exact smoldering smirk that Kuroo was exhibiting right now. He was speechless as mind tried to place it and then it hit him, and he let out a gasp like he’d been punched in the stomach. It was from an old magazine he had stashed under his mattress at his parent’s house. One he all but forgot about in the move to his college dorm. The spine of the magazine had been permanently bent from use, but only open to one page. An advertisement for jeans that pictured a teen model with unruly black hair and dark eyes.

“I _know_ you!” Bokuto shouted, a little too loud and the others around them had looked over with mild interest. “I knew your name sounded familiar, but I ignored it because I couldn’t place it. You’re that model, Kuroo Tetsurou.”

Kuroo laughed a little in his discomfort, he was used to being recognized out in the streets, but Bokuto was the first one to recognize him tonight. He straightened up and scratched the back of his head nervously. People had always fawned over his looks and how he could move his body because of his dance background. He never had a traditional schooling and coming to university was the closest he’d gotten to a real school life. So Bokuto was going to be another one of those, enchanted by his natural charm and pretty face. Sure, he was using them now, and he was even recruited to work here by the owner, but the reference to modeling was a sore subject.

At first modeling had been fun, he got noticed from their local newspaper that had featured his win in a local hip hop competition. He made more money than any teen should have, and it went to his a little. Girls recognized him everywhere he went and the ones from the local high school were always asking him out. Again, at first it was great, until he started to realize those girls only wanted him for his body and his fame.

Now he was technically retired from modeling, so he could have the normal college experience he always wanted. Most guys didn’t recognize him unless they were really into fashion and fashion magazines. That’s why he had a preference for guys at the moment and steered clear of anyone that recognized him from his modeling campaigns. He left Tokyo, the city he loved, to find a school in a small town where he wouldn’t always run into his picture. Daichi and Oikawa were the first friends he had made that liked him for him, not because he was famous and kind of rich.

Bokuto had just become one those people and Kuroo was disappointed. That denim ad had been one of his first, so Bokuto had been following him from the beginning. That look, that crackled like electricity and felt like a fire burning inside of him, must have just been admiration. Even if Bokuto hadn’t recognized him at first, a part of his brain might have known from the start. Of course, that’s why he’d buy off his friend with drinks for the chance to talk with ‘the famous Kuroo Tetsurou’. People that referred to him by his full name like that only knew him as the model and never looked past the surface. They didn’t care about the person underneath. This story had played out too many times in Kuroo’s life. In about ten seconds, Bokuto was about to fire off a million questions about what it was like to be a model.

“You know, what never mind. Keep your money, I don’t need it after all, right?” Kuroo walked off, putting on a fake smile to serve his next customer.

Terushima appeared at Bokuto’s elbow as soon as Kuroo left. He saw the confusion and upset look on Bokuto’s face. He grabbed the beer and took a long sip, watching what Bokuto was going to do for a moment before speaking. Bokuto swallowed thickly, but he didn’t move or say anything. “What happened?”

“I don’t know, things were going fine, we were flirting and stuff and then I asked him if he was the model, Kuroo Tetsurou, and he walked away.”

“He’s a model? No wonder he’s so hot.” Terushima patted Bokuto on the shoulder and tried to crack a joke to lighten the mood. “So, since you struck out can I have dibs now?” Bokuto looked even more depressed and Terushima knew that wasn’t the right thing to say. When Bokuto got moody, sometimes jokes like that worked and other times they backfired. He was a little unpredictable when he got upset.

“Right. Too soon.” Terushima switched gears, “you know what, the deal’s off. You don’t need to bribe me with drinks. Come on, buddy, let’s go dance. I know you like to dance. We’ll make a show of it like we always do, I’ll make any guy in this place want you.”

Bokuto shook his head and walked a bit further down the bar, abandoning his drink, so he could stand in front of Kuroo again. “What did I do? I thought we had great chemistry a minute ago.”

Kuroo rolled his eyes, “Why did you really pay off your friend? So, you could have the chance to talk to ‘the famous Kuroo Tetsurou’? No thanks.”

“No. I didn’t know that was you until just a minute ago. I mean, yeah, I thought you were attractive. You can’t blame me for that. You know you’re attractive.” He raised an eyebrow and waited for Kuroo do deny it, but he didn’t. “It was because we locked eyes from across the room. You were looking at me like there was no one else in the room. I’m cheesy, I’ll admit, but I believe in things like love at first sight and fate. There was something in that look we shared that told me we’d have a connection. I would usually let Teru have the guys he spots first, but there was something about you that just made me fight for you.”

“Yeah, because I’m the model you used fantasize over, you just didn’t realize it at the time.” Kuroo scoffed, he was way too jaded for twenty-year-old, but he’d seen the in and outs of dating. Love at first sight didn’t exist. The ‘electricity’ between them had only been a mixture of lust and attraction. People dated for what they got out of the relationship. Even if it wasn’t clear at first, their intentions came to light eventually.

“No. I only had the one magazine because I stole from my mom’s bedroom. I thought, wow, there was someone my age in a magazine, how cool. I had forgotten about you until I saw that pose.” He swallowed, switching gears, “tell me something about you.”

Kuroo soften his gaze and batted his eyelashes at Bokuto pretending to be completely star struck.  “‘Yes, Kuroo, tell me about your modeling career. How much money do you have? What’s it like to be famous? What is like to be a model?’ I’ve heard it all before. I’m not interested.” Kuroo was about to walk away again, but Bokuto’s next words made him stop in his tracks.

“I don’t care about that. I was trying to get to know you. Isn’t that what people do when they’re interested in someone? What makes you laugh? What makes you smile? Because I’d do anything to see that beautiful smile of yours again.”

“Wow. What a speech.” Oikawa cut in, he had looked over in interest the minute Kuroo had started writing off the guy he called ‘dibs’ on. His eyes drifted over Kuroo’s face and he saw something he wasn’t expecting. Apparently what Bokuto had said made a real impact on Kuroo. Of course, he knew about Kuroo’s old modeling career, they all found out when they started working here. He and Daichi quickly learned not to bring it up too much. “Tetsurou looks like he wants to kiss you right now.” Oikawa teased his friend, poking him in the side.

Kuroo blushed and swatted Oikawa’s hand away. “I do not. I—” He was cut off by a loud party style siren going off and then the lights were abruptly shut off. That was their cue. It was midnight already. He, Daichi, and Oikawa quickly disappeared through door behind the bar before the lights turned back on a minute later.

“Gentlemen and Queens, please turn your attention to the main stage opposite the bar. We’ve got a little ‘Members Only’ welcome party for you!” A disembodied voiced called over the loudspeaker and Bokuto’s was surprised to see Kuroo no longer standing in front of him. There was another set of bartenders now and Bokuto knew whatever was about to happen he needed to be at the front of the stage. He grabbed Terushima’s wrist and dragged him to the front.

“Bo? What the hell?” Terushima hissed in his ear, but he didn’t protest as Bokuto dragged him through the crowd, getting a front row seat.

“Kuroo said I wouldn’t want to miss whatever was happening at midnight.”

The siren rang out a second time and the house lights shut off. The music started, and spotlights lit up the stage. Oikawa and Daichi strutted out first, starting in a coordinated dance that involved a lot of body rolls and hip thrusting. Sugawara suddenly appeared at Bokuto’s side whistling for his boyfriend.

“Daichi said they’ve been practicing this for weeks. Kuroo taught them to dance. He had me sworn to secrecy, but this was the real reason we came tonight.” Sugawara smirked, pointing to the center of the stage right as Kuroo walked out. “You’re welcome.”

Kuroo didn’t miss a beat and joined in with the other two, singing out the first lyrics of the song. It was a combination of rapping and singing and Bokuto was all for it. “B-b-boy I gotta know how you dance like that, dance like that. You dance like that, 'Cause you're puttin' on a show. Can I take you back?  
Take you back, take you back.”

Kuroo was the clear born performer and leader of the group. Oikawa and Daichi were doing a great job as the background dancers, working their sides of the crowd. But, there was no denying it, Kuroo knew how to work the crowd, moving his body to match each one of the lyrics. His eyes lingered on no one in particular until he hit the second verse.

“I can't get you outta my mind, with the way you walk. The way you walk, the way you walk. Baby, you should be a sign, the way you make me stop, make me stop, make me stop.” He looked right at Bokuto, giving him a little coy smile as he sang. They didn’t have time to talk after Bokuto had tried to set things straight, but from that look, he was sure he did something right. Or at least he hoped so, Kuroo could just milking the performance and Bokuto just happened to be in front of him.

“’Cuz some like fast,” Kuroo lingered on this lyric, so they could speed up the tempo of their dance for a moment to match. “and some like slow…” The three of them slowed down, their bodies swaying in a mock slow motion before they all froze for a moment. Kuroo’s eyes flicked between Daichi and Oikawa for a moment, smiling a little. “Fellas come, and fellas go. Skip the tell and lets just go.” The started dancing again on the word go, yanking their vests open. Kuroo’s voice faded out and the last bit of song played through the speakers and they just danced.

If Kuroo’s dancing was amazing while singing, it was even better when he wasn’t. With only one thing to focus on, Kuroo showed off even more, but Oikawa and Daichi didn’t struggle with keeping up. They sild their vests off and threw them off to the side of the stage. Each move Kuroo did was mirrored by Oikawa and Daichi. The whole thing was very sexy and sensual, and the crowd cheered with each time the dancers dropped to ground and rolled their hips. It ended with Oikawa and Daichi backing off so Kuroo could have his own solo. He added break dancing that he’d been practicing over the last few years to up the showy factor of his hip hop style.

Bokuto didn’t take his eyes away from Kuroo for a minute. He was so transfixed, and his mouth ran dry with each hip thrust and shimmy that Kuroo added to his dancing. He only knew Kuroo as the model, not the dancer or singer. He was all sorts of attracted to him now. He wasn’t the only one. Boys in the club were whistling and calling out Kuroo’s name. Many times, during his performance, Kuroo’s eyes drifted back to Bokuto, lingering just a bit longer than he did with anyone else. That first time wasn’t a fluke after all. Kuroo was watching for Bokuto’s reaction the most out of anyone in the crowd.

Oikawa and Daichi walked up to center stage and took a bow with Kuroo as the crowd cheered for them. “We only prepared one song for you as a trial run. Blow up our twitter page, ‘@membersonlynightclub’, with your thoughts about tonight and maybe we’ll make this a regular thing. I’m Tetsurou,” Kuroo gestured to his right, “this is the very ruggedly handsome Daichi, and to my left,” he gestured to Oikawa and smirked. “This is Oikawa or whatever.”

“Shove off Tetsurou!” Oikawa jabbed Kuroo in the side.

“Anyway, feel free to vote for your favorite dancer and bartender tonight using the tip jars. Each are labeled with our names.” Kuroo waved to the crowd one last time and the stage lights shut off once again. The club music started up again and the night resumed as it had started.

Bokuto raced back to bar to see Kuroo. He caught the end of their conversation as Kuroo, Oikawa, and Daichi took their places back behind the counter.

“…that’s incredibly unfair, Tetsu, you’re swaying the votes your way. We all you’ll be most popular after that. You are the professional dancer after all. The lead always gets the most attention.” Oikawa glared at him.

“We all know Tetsurou plays dirty.” Daichi added, rolling his eyes, “what did you expect?”

“I learned from the best.” Kuroo blew a kiss toward Oikawa. “We all know you started that. I saw you improvising and working your side very well.”

Bokuto pulled out his wallet and threw his twenty into Kuroo’s tip jar. Screw the fact a that was half of his drink money for tonight.

“Why thank you.” Kuroo said graciously and turned to see Bokuto smiling at him. “Oh. It’s you. What did you think, man? Did you like it?”

“I didn’t know you could dance and sing!”

Kuroo looked a bit taken aback by that. Most who knew him as a model as googled him and found his dancing videos on YouTube. “You didn’t? Are you even my fan if you haven’t seen my YouTube videos?” He smirked at Bokuto.

“Guess not. I just thought you were pretty.”

“I guess I can forgive you then.”

“You’re used to people dating you for the fame, huh?” Bokuto asked, finally getting why Kuroo had reacted so negatively earlier.

“Yep. It’s basically why I’ve stopped introducing myself with my last name. It used to be plastered all over my ads. I’d rather people get to know the real me instead of the model.” He was surprised that Bokuto picked up on that. He didn’t seem all that perceptive, but maybe he had his moments. He seemed to get along with most people, maybe because he showed such care and concern for his friends.

“Can I see Tetsurou again?”

Kuroo smiled and busied himself making a drink as he pretended to mull it over. He already had plans to let Bokuto in after that speech he had made earlier. No one who knew he was model hadn’t asked about his career once. Bokuto had been so purely honest and straightforward from the start. Those were two qualities that Kuroo couldn’t resist. That and he was still very much attracted to Bokuto. He called it chemistry, Bokuto called it fate, either way he was down.

“Yeah, we could hang out. This one is on me. I made it especially for you. Go have fun tonight okay, I have work to do. I can’t win the tip war if I’m only focused on you.” Kuroo poured a drink from the shaker and placed it on a napkin before he slid it across to Bokuto.

“Wait—”

“Go.” Kuroo waved him off. He was a bit of tease and was in the mood play it up now. Bokuto sighed dramatically and slid off the stool, taking his drink with him. “Don’t forget your napkin!” Kuroo held it out to him and Bokuto made a face, but took it anyway.

He was about to throw it away to spite Kuroo, but he saw black lettering on it. A phone number. There was also a shadow of writing on the other side and Bokuto flipped it over to read:

              **I get off at 4 am, if you’re still awake by then text me.**

**Don’t party too hard, I want you to be coherent enough later,**

**but do buy a lot of drinks, I want to keep my job. :)**

Bokuto smiled at the note and looked back Kuroo, who winked at him. He pressed a kiss into the napkin and slid it into his pocket. Kuroo smiled warmly at him, clearly a bit touched by the action, and then went back to work.

* * *

 

So Bokuto had partied a little harder than he intended to. It wasn’t that he was throwing up or anything, but it was five past four in the morning and Bokuto was feeling very sleepy. Yet, he also really wanted to see Kuroo. He texted Kuroo the address to his apartment, hoping that he would just come over, knowing Bokuto could go anywhere right now.

              **To Tetsurou at 4:05**

**I’m very sleepy. I get that way when I drink as the night ends**

**But please come I do want to see you**

**From Tetsurou at 4:05**

**I’m on my way from MO**

**I got you a coffee – lots of cream and sugar**

**You strike me as a sweet coffee person.**

Bokuto smiled at the message, Kuroo was very sweet when he wasn’t putting on show for the club. That and when he didn’t have his guard up, too worried that people wouldn’t like him for him.

              **To Tetsurou at 4:07**

**You guessed right**

**You’re so sweet**

**From Tetsurou at 4:07**

**And you’re even more honest when you’re drunk**

**I like that :)**

Bokuto stood up, getting off his bed so he wouldn’t be tempted to go sleep. He really did want to spend time with Kuroo. He had to do something to wake himself up. He paced his living room and then decided it would be a good idea to get some blood flowing. Bokuto dropped to the floor and started doing pushups. The mild exercise actually started clear his mind and the thought of things they could do when Kuroo got here. What would be fun? Then he got it. Bokuto jumped up and ran into the bedroom, grabbing a couple of blankets and pillow. He stacked them in the living room and thought for a moment before running to his kitchen for a lighter and a candle. This was about to romantic as hell.

There was a knock on his door and Bokuto skidded over to door, pulling it open. “Hi!”

Kuroo took in his slightly flushed appearance as well as the candle and lighter in his hands. “What were you doing?”

“Well I was doing push ups to try to wake myself up and then I had an idea. Here take this.” Bokuto handed Kuroo the candle and lighter before walking over to get the bedding.

 _Why is this guy just so endearing?_ Kuroo asked silently, biting his lip, and watching Bokuto gather his things. “You sure perked up fast.”

Bokuto ushered Kuroo outside and locked his apartment behind them. “Follow me.” They walked down the hall and Bokuto unlocked another door opening up to a set of concrete stairs.

“Are you going to make it up the stairs drunk?” Kuroo teased, walking behind him just in case he needed to drop everything and catch him.

“Hey. I may not look it, but I am very coordinated. Now come on, I had an idea for our date.” Bokuto shifted the bedding in his hands.

“Oh, this is date now?”

Bokuto turned to him when they reached the landing, “It’s not?”

He looked so dejected that Kuroo’s heart felt heavy in his chest. So apparently, while drunk, Bokuto did not take this kind of teasing well. From what Kuroo knew so far, Bokuto wore his heart on his sleeve, and when he was drunk even more so, he couldn’t contain conceal his feelings if he tried. “Oh shit, bro, I was messing with you. Sorry. Of course it’s a date.” _Well, I didn’t know it was nor did I really intend it to be, but fuck, I think I like him already. He’s so cute and hot at the same time._

Bokuto brightened up again and opened the door in front of him, stepping out onto the rooftop. He walked over and started spreading blankets out on the ground.

 Kuroo gasped taking in the pool and the way the moon reflected off the inky blue color of the water. Up here, the could see the scattered lights from the university and other buildings. This was one of the few high rises in the town and when he looked up, he could actually see the stars. That was one thing he liked about going to college in a small town. “A rooftop pool, and this view? Impressive.”

“Yeah, most of the money I get from my job at the bookstore goes to the rent for this place, but I wanted to live here so bad. That’s why I’m always broke.” Bokuto sat down on the blankets, patting the space between them. Usually he was bit wilder when he drunk, proposing crazy schemes and dancing around, but he gotten that out of his system already. Now he was at the more mellow part of his night.

Kuroo sat down next to him, putting the candle down. “You could always come work at the club. I bet I could get you a job.” He handed him the cup of coffee and pulled out a bottle of whiskey, winking when Bokuto eyed it. “What? I’m still a bit buzzed from my two allotted drinks on shift and watching others drink.”

Bokuto shrugged and took a long sip of the coffee. Kuroo had unknowingly made it just right. He reached over and lit the candle, placing it a safe distance away from their blankets. “Romantic as hell, right?”

“Right.” Kuroo chuckled at the way Bokuto was fishing for praise and laid back so he could look at the stars.

“What are you laughing at?”

“You. You’re just cute.”

“You think so?”

“Of course and so, so hot. Like fuck, I’m dying to see those pectorals of yours. I could never get that buff in a million years.” Kuroo commented, taking a drink directly from the bottle.

“All you had to do was ask.” Bokuto pulled off his shirt and Kuroo nearly choked, completely caught off guard that Bokuto complied so easily. Then again, he was still drunk. Bokuto took another drink of his coffee before lying back so Kuroo could get a full view. “You did show me yours earlier, so it’s only fair.”

“I think I’m in love.” Kuroo joked, reaching over to stroke a hand down Bokuto’s chest. He frowned a little, in distress and sighed. “Ugh, it’s just as firm as I thought it would be. You’re so pretty it’s unfair.”

“That coming from a model? I’m flattered.”

“A retired model.” Kuroo corrected him quickly. He was still in very good shape, but not as he had been in those days.

“Right.” Bokuto goes quiet for a moment and then asks a question, one that he didn’t dare ask sober. “Who is the person that broke your heart?”

“What do you mean? It was a few different girls. They threw themselves at me because I was model, but they didn’t care about me, they only cared that I was Kuroo Tetsurou.” He knew this conversation would come up eventually and he just couldn’t lie to Bokuto when the guy had already been so honest with him. He took another swig as Bokuto talked, trying to make this conversation easier.

“No, there has to be one that started it.” Bokuto urged, he was prying a bit, but he just wanted to know. Kuroo shouldn’t be this jaded toward relationships now. Maybe that’s why he was flirting with guys now. What if this wasn’t supposed to be a date and Bokuto had just forced it into one.

Kuroo sighed in surrender, “Fine. Her name was Mei and she was the first girl to ask me out after my magazine came out. She was paying attention to me because I was famous, I knew that, but back then I was just starting and didn’t see it as a bad thing. Things were going well in the beginning and then I started to notice things. She and I would only talk about my modeling, the famous people I met, and the events I got invited to. She got angry when I didn’t bring her as my plus one. When I did, she was happy, and we were fine, but I was no longer happy.”

He paused and took a drink, Bokuto only barely managed to stay quiet, but mostly because he was thinking about a million different things right now.

“So anyway, we got into a huge fight one night and I just asked her: ‘why are you dating’? She denied it at first, but we kept screaming at each other and it eventually came out.” Kuroo cleared his throat and put on a fake girly voice that sent Bokuto into a fit of giggles. “She said, ‘one, because you’re way hot and it makes all the girls at my school jealous. Two, you’re Kuroo Tetsurou, duh!’ I asked what else she even liked about me and she couldn’t name anything that didn’t pertain to my looks.”

Bokuto managed to get his giggles under control when Kuroo adopted his normal voice again. “Sorry, it was the girl voice. That sucks man, I’m sorry. What a bitch.”

“She really was and so were the next two girls I tried to date.”

“Are you even into boys?”

Kuroo looked over at Bokuto and saw it in his eyes, the doubt. “Yes. I’m attracted to both, but girls are all I’ve had experience with so far. I’m pretty much pansexual, but also very much demi in some ways. I’ll fall for the person and who they are instead of a gender. I’ll like their personality before I become sexually attracted to them. I’ve been very preferential to boys lately, mostly because of the problems I’ve had with girls in Tokyo. I needed a break from them and less boys recognize me than girls do. I’ve also avoided any boy that does know who I am to protect me from the trap I fell into before.”

“That’s why you walked off the minute I figured out who you were and why no one calls you by your family name.”

“Oh, and believe me, I was super upset that I had to do that.” Kuroo turned toward him and grinned at him, “and then you made that adorable speech. You blatantly said you didn’t care that I was model, you just wanted to know me because we had a connection. Adorable.”

“You’re mocking me.” Bokuto pouted, refusing to look at him.

Kuroo scooched closer, feeling the alcohol in his system now, and laid his head on Bokuto’s chest. He pouted a little too, looking up at Bokuto through his lashes. “Aw, don’t be like that. I am not. I really liked it. You’re so honest and straightforward, the things I really look for in a partner, especially after what I’ve been through.”

“One last question. Did I just force you to make this into a date earlier?”

“A little.”

“I knew it.” Bokuto was about to pull away, but Kuroo placed a hand on his chest to stop him.

“I originally meant for this to be two guys, that happened to be attracted to each, other hanging out and seeing if they were compatible.”

“And that’s not a date?” Bokuto was very confused by answer, it hurt his slightly fogged, drunk brain.

“That did completely sound like the definition of date, didn’t it?” Kuroo grinned and sighed, “it was different. This was supposed to just be us hanging out.”

“And I ruined that?”

“In the best way. You set up this very romantic atmosphere, complete with a candle and star gazing. At the bar you just asked if you could see me again and said yes, we could hang out.”

“Oh shit I did. I failed at catching that.”

“Hey, stop interrupting me.” Kuroo reached up and poked Bokuto’s cheek. “I was going to say, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, then you called it a date. When I teased you about it, you looked so sad that I just couldn’t say no. That’s when it did officially become a date. I think I decided I liked you when you asked to spend time with ‘Tetsurou’. Then it was confirmed when you opened the door a bit flushed because you were trying wake yourself up, just so you could spend time with me. I thought, oh fuck, he’s so endearing.”

“Now who’s being all honest?” Bokuto teased him.

“Now look who’s doing the teasing? I’m drunk, fuck off.” He looked up at Bokuto again, “do you want to play a game?”

Bokuto shrugged, “Why not. What kind of game?”

“We both ask each other questions and if one person passes or doesn’t want to answer the question, the person who asks has to answer their own question. So, I’ll start with something easy. Favorite food?”

“Or what if you have to guess my answer and if you get it wrong you drink. If you get it right I drink.”

“That could get dangerous…but it sounds fun. Are you up for round two of drinking?”

Bokuto sat up a bit so he could finish the rest of his coffee. “Yeah, I’ve sobered up a bit now. I promise I’ll tap out if it’s too much.”

“Okay, I will too…hmm your favorite food, hm? For some reason I think you have a very cliché favorite food. Pizza.”

Bokuto shook his head, “I love any sort of barbecued meat, mostly steak though.”

“Fuck.” Kuroo took a small swig from the bottle. “Okay, guess mine.”

“I’m thinking fish for some reason. Maybe because you’re clever like a cat. Salmon.”

“No. You were right about fish, though. I like a good mackerel pike with salt. It’s the best.”

“Damn.” Bokuto took a drink. “My turn for a question…favorite school subject?” He paused to think about it, “You seem pretty smart so I’m thinking something science-y”

“Bingo, baby.” Kuroo took a drink as he thought about Bokuto’s favorite. “I feel you weren’t super into acadmeics, but you weren’t stupid. I’m not saying that so don’t glare at me. I think you’d pick P.E. to throw me off.”

“Right.” Bokuto took another drink.

“Wait. How is this a competition? We’re both still drinking each time.”

“Oh yeah…well there’s still the possibility that you could have gotten wrong and had to drink twice just then.”

“Still, I think we’re doing too much drinking.” Kuroo sat up, facing Bokuto as he thought of a way to amend the game a bit. Bokuto sat up and faced him as well. “What if we only drink when we’re wrong?”

“Ohhh. That could work.”

“I’m just asking this because I want to know. You already know mine, but I’m going to guess your sexuality.” He looked at Bokuto and thought about everything that happened between them tonight. Bokuto gave off very gay vibes, but it wouldn’t surprise him if there was another element there. He took Bokuto’s hands and pressed him between his own. Kuroo closed his eyes and hummed as if he could read Bokuto’s sexuality through touch. It made Bokuto laugh and that was the goal.

“I’m just getting very gay vibes. Homosexual.”

“Homoromantic…I’ve always kind of suspected I’m on the asexual spectrum. It’s not that I’m repulsed by sex, I just don’t…I don’t have much interest in it. Never have. I don’t usually have sexual thoughts about the guys I like.” Bokuto looked down, pulling his hands away. He heard pan _sexual_ in Kuroo’s answer before and that he had _sexual_ attraction to someone after they got to know each other. Just thinking about that again made him suddenly self-conscious.

“Hey,” Kuroo gently took Bokuto’s chin between his thumb and forefinger. He slowly guided Bokuto’s head up so he could meet Bokuto’s eyes. “It’s okay. No pressure in that way at all.”

“If we got together, I’m saying we will or anything, this is still our first date, would it be okay if we didn’t have sex? I mean maybe we could eventually, we’ll see, but…”

“We’ll talk about it when we get there. I’m not an asshole and I would never force you into anything. Relationships are more than just sex. I know, and I’ve learned that, better than anyone.”

Bokuto was suddenly so overwhelmed by emotions of relief that tears spilled down his cheeks before he could think to stop them.

“Aw, sweetie, it’s okay.” Kuroo slid his hand up Bokuto’s face to rest on his cheek. Bokuto’s skin was so soft and smooth under his touch. He wiped away some of Bokuto’s tears with his thumb.

“Thank you.” The words tumbled out of Bokuto’s mouth after he calmed down a little, taking a small, shuddering breath.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.”

Kuroo leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss, barely doing more than brushing their lips together at first. After he gauged Bokuto’s reaction and how he kissed back, Kuroo deepened the kiss a bit more. He was still keeping it light and chaste. There was a large part of him, that was almost too overwhelming, that wanted to introduce his tongue, but he knew this wasn’t the time. He was drunk, but he would never even think of taking advantage of that.

Bokuto pulled back first and watched Kuroo slowly open his eyes, smiling from the kiss. Bokuto knew he was wearing a smile that was just as dorky and pleased as the one Kuroo had plastered on his face. “That was really good. I mean I’ve kissed a lot of guys, but wow.”

“You have, huh?”

“I’m ace, not prude.” Bokuto stuck his tongue out at Kuroo, who raised still had his eyebrow raised at him. “I really like to get drunk and make out with guys at parties. I have yet to find the one who make me not want to kiss anyone else.”

“How about now?”

“Depends, what do think about tonight? Will there be a second date?”

Kuroo looked out into the sky in front of them that just starting to lighten with rising sun. He leaned against Bokuto, laying his head in the space where Bokuto’s neck met his shoulder. They fit kind of perfectly together and it made Kuroo let out a dreamy little sigh at how stupidly romantic that thought was. “So far, I think so, but I’ll let you know when I’m a bit more sober. Right now, I’m just enjoying the sunrise.”

“I feel that. It’s looking good for you so far too.”

Kuroo was taking things slow for the first time in his life when it came to relationships. It actually felt really nice not rush into things, but to just be in the moment. He was enjoying being with Bokuto and he liked the talk they had. It was better to get it all out there before they committed to anything serious. That way they’d both know what they were getting into. Right now, they didn’t have to label it. They were just two guys that happened to like each other, that happened to kiss, spending time with one another.

A little thought lingered in the back of Kuroo’s head as they sat together, and he just let it be. He might have found the one person who made him want to be romantic again. The one person who might finally chase away all his insecurities, but it was still too soon to tell. Either way, he was ready to see how things developed, and he wanted to do that with Bokuto.


End file.
